Return to the Smithsonian
by Allyson Kat
Summary: After Sacajawea's shipped off to the Smithsonian, Larry, Nick, and two new nightguards return to the world's biggest museum in a last-ditch effort to get her back. Adventure ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**I made some edits even to the first chapter. Because of some plans for the future bits of the story, I am changing so that Sacajawea and Teddy are only engaged, not yet married. I'm keeping the first chapter pretty much the same. The remake will be much better than the first! I promise!**

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><p>"That's not fair!" Shouted Sam. "You can't just... just ship her off like she's-!"<p>

"Mr. Rutger," McPhee rolled his eyes, "it's..." he moved his arms around, searching for the word and hoping Sam would take the meaning. Finally he sighed and added, "It's a wax figurine." Sam bit his lip to stop a stupid statement that would give away the museum's biggest secret. _She just got engaged, though!_ Teddy had so thoughtfully sought his and the other nightguards' advice as to rings and had even braved the internet (totally foreign to his understanding) to get an idea. He had actively chased down Rebecca, who had become firm friends with her former dissertation topic, to get her advice as well. So much thought had gone into it, and now they were to be torn away from one another before they got a chance to wed.

"But-" Sam tried in vain one last time, maneuvering himself to block the exit route of the movers.

"I'd be careful, Mr. Rutger," Dr. McPhee warned coolly, "or your position as a guard here could be in jeopardy." As the museum director walked out the revolving doors, Sam turned around and kicked the welcome desk hard.

"Ouch!" He hopped around and sat down sulkily, hand in his head. He sunk down to the marble floor, a small figure in the open hall. The museum gradually became darker and still Sam did not get up. As Teddy came to life, Sam groaned. "I tried, Teddy..."

"Samuel, lad," Teddy smiled sadly, "Your efforts were valiant and will not go unseen."

"They just packed her up and... left."

"She's gone? What? Tonight?" Bobby burst in the door with Starbucks coffee for himself, Sam, and Larry and a hot chocolate for Nick, whom they knew would be accompanying his father to the museum this Friday night. "I thought they were going to take her on Monday!"

"I'm afraid, Robert," Teddy shook his head, bits of his facade crumbling, "they took her away earlier this afternoon."

"Just missed her," Sam added bitterly, grabbing one of the coffees and sipping at it.

"God, Ted," Bobby ran his hand through his hair, "I'm so sorry."

"Larry's going to be late, right? Something with Nick?" Sam changed the subject quickly. Bobby nodded. Teddy attempted to look calm and collected. Tex pranced back and forth nervously. The horse knew something was wrong, too.

"As far as I've heard."

"Well if it ain't Hugo and Goliath," a familiar drawl echoed in the lobby. Rexy rattled with excitement and sniffed around in search of their miniature friends.

"Down here, Jedd," Sam sulked.

"Now, my boy," Teddy leaned down to pat the young man on the shoulder, "There was not much you could have done."

"What's got you down, Goliath?" Suddenly, Jedd and Octavius were on the counter with Malinche, the Mayan princess. The Mayans had been released from nightly lockdown soon after Bobby had arrived.

"Well, I don't know if you missed the memo, Tiny," Sam spat bitterly, "but Sacajawea's gone."

"That hurts my feelings, Goliath," Jedd whimpered pitifully.

"I will admit, my liege," Octavius piped in for his friend, "that was a bit uncalled for."

"I know," Sam sighed, "I'm sorry Jedd. I'm just frustrated, is all. I tried everything!" Monkey chatter erupted above their heads. "Yeah, I know, Dex. But I can't help but feel like..."

"Dude," Bobby shoved his friend in the shoulder and said plainly what everybody else was trying to communicate, "Calm down. You did everything." Sam shrugged and straightened out his collar.

"You're right," Sam grinned, "How are things going in the Maya, Mal?" Malinche smiled serenely and Octavius wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Jedd glared at his Roman counterpart.

"I can hardly go home because I have these Roman and Western tumors attached to me," Malinche shoved Octavius's arm off her shoulder.

"You sicken me," Jedd joked to Octavius, replacing his friend's arm across Malinche's shoulders. She squirmed out of his grasp as well and gave a heavy sigh and eye roll. Clearly, neither Octavius nor Jedidiah had met another miniature woman who was worth pursuing.

It wasn't long before Larry joined them with his thirteen-year-old son, Nick.

"Hello, Lawrence," Teddy faked a grin, "Good to see you, Nicholas!"

"You, too, Teddy," Nick smiled. "Where's Sacajawea? We were talking about her in American History class at school today, and I wanted to tell her about it. I've actually got a really funny story for her!" Everyone stood quiet.

"They shipped her off about an hour ago," Sam finally told the child. Nick scowled.

"They what? Who?"

"She's been requested by the Smithsonian-" Larry almost shuddered at the memories. "-as part of their new exhibit on important women in history," Bobby explained.

"But Dad, you've been to the Smithsonian!" Nick turned to his dad.

"Yeah," Larry backed up, "and I am never going back." The gigantic museum had been all but destroyed by his previous visit. There were many reasons he did not want to return, chief among them encountering any of his old buddies like Napoleon Bonaparte or Al Capone. Of course, there had been some good memories from that night, too, but they were too bittersweet to consider and made him wish too strongly for impossible things.

"But that's not fair!" Nick glowered, interrupting Larry's reverie. "She's your friend! She's Teddy's fiancee!"

"Listen, Nick," Larry brought his son aside, "I know you're upset. We all are. But there's not much we can do-"

"There's a lot we can do! We can go to Washington with the tablet and bring her back!" Nick insisted.

"And explain to McPhee that she, what, just walked back in?" Larry shook his head. "She may be 'animatronic,' but even McPhee would never buy that one. No, Nicky. I'm sorry." Nick ripped himself away from his father to stare mutinously at the other guards and exhibits gathering. Tears formed in his eyes.

"And you're just going to let them take her?" Nobody said a thing. "Stand by passively while they pack up and ship off a part of your _family_?" Nicky reiterated.

"Nicholas, my boy," Teddy rode up to the boy on Tex, "We will all miss her-"

"Ahk, your tablet!" Nick dashed towards the stairs, at the top of which stood the young pharaoh. "Is there anything it could-?"

"I'm afraid its magic only goes so far," Ahkmenrah smiled at the boy. "But I admire your ardent enthusiasm." Nick steeled his gaze, finally finding an ally in the two newest additions to the night guarding team. "Come on, Sam! Bobby! You guys can't think this is okay!" Sam and Bobby shared a glance.

"Know what?" Sam finally decided. "I'm with the kid. I'll book the flights tonight."

"Sam!" Larry was shocked. Sam merely shrugged. "It won't work!"

"I think Nick has the right idea. It'll all work itself out," Bobby calmed everyone, "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and if it does, then great! Saca's back. But we'll never know if we don't try." Nick grinned at the two and gave his father an 'I-told-you-so' look while Larry prayed for some sort of divine intervention. He would be returning to the Smithsonian.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the first story. I got frustrated with it and wanted to start with a mostly blank slate. If you haven't seen the edit of the first chapter, I made it so Sacajawea and Teddy are only engaged, not married. Also, Annalisa is returning but I shortened her name to Lisa because I didn't want people calling her Annie. It would get confusing (eventually). It's funny to think about how I came up with the idea for this story... I really just wanted to put a bunch of historical figures (like *SPOILERALERT* Nellie Bly or Annie Oakley or Leonardo da Vinci) in the modern day and, since I think time-travel is a cheesy cliche, decided to turn it into a NATM fanfic. Let me know what you think of it! Reviews are my red bull (and by that I mean they give me wings). Enjoi!**

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><p>Ahk seemed to have some separation anxiety with his tablet (which made sense given the disasters that came with the past few times he had been apart from it), so the first thing he did was begin insisting on making the journey with Larry, Bobby, and Sam. Nick's mom Erica and her husband were both out of town, so Larry agreed (albeit with a huge show of reluctance) to bring his son along. Nick grinned like mad. Ahk borrowed some more normal clothes from his companions in order to make it through airport security without a hassle.<p>

"Now, Nicky, remember," Bobby started, "if they ask, the tablet is-"

"A replica we bought in the museum gift shop?" Nicky smiled and Bobby stopped. "Yeah, I know."

"Good."

The five proceeded through security, where nobody so much as batted an eyelash at the ancient Egyptian relic in Nick's carry-on. Before the sun had the chance to rise, they were in Washington, D.C. and trudging through the snow across the National Mall. Nick and Bobby alike were hardly able to keep their eyes open. Bobby had been airsick on the airplane and Nick was just unused to staying up all night.

Larry knew well enough to not let them into any of the museums with the tablet, so Sam waited outside with the golden artifact, shivering and cursing the day it dropped below 32 degrees on the east coast. Snow landed in his curly brown hair and he shook it off with a look of disgust on his face.

Bobby and Nick warmed up in the museum just inside the doors. The fact that Larry had, for whatever reason, kept Brandon's security card proved useful. Sam, just outside, demonstrated his colorful vernacular to the two. Normally, Bobby would have played older brother to Nick and reprimanded Sam, but he wasn't awake enough to care and Nick was probably not awake enough to notice.

Larry led Ahk through the sleeping sublevels of the Smithsonian, pausing as he noticed his old friend Custer. He was a little discouraged that he hadn't seen another old friend in here, but he wondered if it meant she might be on display somewhere. That would be good for her, he thought, to get out of these dusty old archives. She would hate the idea of getting dusty.

Ahk gazed at everything in wonder. He didn't say much, but every once in a while Larry would hear from the young pharaoh walking behind him an, "oh!" or a, "wow!" Finally, as they were nearing the crate in which their friends had once been held captive by his older brother, Ahkmenrah spoke.

"I've never been to a place so large or spectacular," he stated simply.

"There is certainly..." Larry exhaled, searching for the word. "A lot of stuff here." He concluded with finality. He left it ambiguous to the young pharaoh as to whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Larry himself wasn't even quite sure.

"Tomorrow night, then, Guardian of Brooklyn?" Ahk smiled, settling down on top of a crate for a good day's sleep.

"Tomorrow night," Larry assured him. "You'll be okay down here by yourself until sunup?"

"There are so many things to see," Ahk breathed, "I'm sure I will find something to do."

"Alright," Larry patted the young pharaoh on the shoulder. "I think Nicky probably will want some sleep."

"And the Bostonian," chuckled Ahk, "must not be too happy about standing out in the snow."

"Oh, shoot!" Larry gasped. "Yeah, I should probably go so we can thaw out Sam! See you tomorrow- er, tonight, Ahk." They parted ways and Larry rushed up the stairs. Nick somewhat resembled a thirteen-year-old zombie. His eyes stared straight ahead, unblinking, and he tottered on his feet. Bobby wasn't much better. Just out the door, Larry heard Sam before seeing him. What he heard wasn't exactly pleasant and Larry rolled his eyes.

"Come on, guys," he nudged Nick into grudging motion and Bobby followed with a shuffling gait. "We should find a hotel or something to sleep." Sam muttered profanities throughout the whole cab ride to whatever cheap hotel was closest, rubbing his numb hands together and cursing that wretched tablet. Nick finally fell asleep in the cab and had to be shaken gruffly awake by an ever-grumpy Sam when they reached their destination. Larry shot Sam a disapproving look and the four all but passed out on the floor when they reached their two-bed hotel room. Nick fell asleep on top of the comforter, splayed out like a ridiculous starfish. Bobby and Sam both passed out in the two armchairs in the room because Larry was quick to nab the bed opposite his son.

In the room across the hallway, the scene could not have changed more drastically. Lined up like sardines on one bed were four girls pretending to watch Mythbusters, while it really served as background noise for their conversations. Izzy moaned and groaned about how hard medical school was while praising California through the roof. Carmen jabbered on about her writing and her boyfriend and her new dog. Meg talked about how gratifying it was to be a wedding planner and Izzy and Carmen squealed that when they got married, Meg would organize it all. Lisa painted her nails and listened.

Lisa Schwartz refused to talk about her situation. Her best friends from college, with whom she had been reunited only a few short hours ago, had all become huge successes in the time since they'd last been together. Lisa, meanwhile, was living in New York City and barely making rent each month. Her Georgetown degree in American history had gotten her nowhere. She was self-conscious enough that her friends were paying for her trip here just so the four could get together. Talking about singing for tips and freelance selling paintings couldn't compare and her friends knew it too. She was the only one of the four who put any real effort into pretending to watch the Discovery channel.

The point of this weekend was to get away from their busy lives and act like stupid college kids again. They were still young and could still get away with things. The plan for this weekend (much to Lisa's chagrin) was to reenact a stunt they had pulled at their junior year Halloween party.

Sneaking into the Smithsonian Air and Space museum in their Halloween costumes had nearly cost them their degrees and put them in prison. Why, Lisa wondered, they had thought it would be fun to do this again was beyond her comprehension. They figured they could do it more smartly this time. The tide of the conversation suddenly swung towards this topic.

"Guys, there are plenty of other... things... that we could do. We don't really have to... right?" Lisa piped up.

"Come on, Leesie!" Izzy laughed. "Sneaking in was the highlight of my junior year! That night I was running on total adrenaline!"

"And vodka." Coughed Meg.

"What was that, hun?" Izzy raised an eyebrow at their littlest friend. Meg hummed and pretended to be enthralled by the exploding car on the television. "That's what I thought. I was not drunk."

"I never said drunk!" Meg scowled. "I just said that you had had something to drink. Big difference." Izzy grumbled in slight agreement. "We all were just a little..."

"Drunk." Lisa and Carmen laughed at the same time. "Only a little!" Lisa continued. "Alcohol or not, it was still a stupid idea. And remains a stupid idea."

"Come on, Lisa!" Carmen shoved her and she toppled over Meg's lap. The four giggled.

"We'll work on her, Carmen," Meg winked. "Let's go get breakfast!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Long chapter, guys! I was sort of frustrated that I deleted everything of my earlier story when I was writing this because there were a couple of good scenes that I had forgotten I probably wanted to include with some edits. I tried my best to piece this one together but forgive me on this one. The next one will be better! I promise! Also, for those of you wondering about Nellie Bly: . was the book she wrote on traveling the world and is a really good testament to her personality. I'm going to be making plenty of references to it in the future.  
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><p>The boys awoke late in the day as well-rested as one could get after the traveling of the night before. Larry decided he wanted to find Sacajawea so that they could get in and out of the museum as quickly and easily as possible.<p>

"_Important women throughout the ages_," Bobby read aloud off a poster. "_Leading ladies in pop culture and history._"

"Or role models for your little girl," Sam shoved Bobby in the shoulder, "Let's get going! We're not going to scope the place out standing here."

"Not," Bobby warned, "so loud." His eyes bounced from guard to guard in the room.

"I'll bet that's the exhibit they wanted Sacajawea for," Nick pointed to the poster.

"Then let's go find it," Sam brushed past the others briskly.

"Amelia," Larry breathed as he caught sight of a huge red plane in the exhibit.

"There she is!" Nick pointed. Sacajawea stood in a woodland diorama across from Amelia Earhart and the Smithsonian had fitted her with a baby on her back. It hit Bobby all of a sudden that their Sacajawea had been a mother. He had known, of course, but the idea of her with a baby had never quite sunk in until he saw that basket strapped to her.

Larry made a beeline for the exhibit his old friend now stood in while the newer nightguards and his son meandered towards different women featured.

"Annie Oakley," Bobby smirked. "Would you look at that?" The sharpshooter had on a bejeweled rodeo outfit and a large hat. Her brown curls fell to her shoulders and she held a rifle casually at her side.

"Wouldn't Coco Chanel give little girls the wrong role model?" Sam shook his head. The frenchwoman had on a little black dress and a red scarf, but her shoulders were bare. Her dark hair was cropped short and pinned back and her dark brown eyes smirked at the passersby. He leaned a little closer to give her a full glance. "Pretty girl, though. I'll give her that." The group eased past a young woman in a checkered trenchcoat with a suitcase in her hand. She had a confident smirk only rivaled in self-satisfaction by the smirk on Amelia Earhart's face and Bobby gave her a sideways glance as they hurried to meet Larry. She looked like the type of forgotten face who would be interesting.

"Dad, we've got a problem." Nick nudged Larry.

"Huh?" Larry was suddenly snapped from his reverie. "What's that, Nicky?" Nick pointed at a poster advertising the other exhibit in this museum.

"Evolution of organized crime," Bobby shivered.

"Complete with Blackbeard, Jesse James, and your old pal Al Capone," Sam leered disgustedly.

"You've met Al Capone?" Nick's jaw dropped.

"Unfortunately," Larry tore himself away from Amelia's exhibit to lead the group to the crime exhibit. The featured gangs drew shudders from the guards. Each gang member had a terrifying snarl on their face. Capone had gained some substance since Larry had last encountered him; he had been fleshed out into a full-color wax figure. He and his gang stood in the back of the hall.

The first exhibit that really caught their eye was that of Blackbeard. He and his pirates were equipped with guns and swords and looked far less civil than Capone's cronies or the James-Younger gang. Jesse James and his gang were posed more melodramatically than the others. They all sat atop horses and Jesse, with a twinkle in his eye, had one pistol drawn and aimed at the crowd. The nightguards and Nick didn't pay much attention to the docents or the labels. The prospect of these people alive at night was enough to make all of them terrified of what was to come in a few hours.

"Ah! He's going to shoot us!" One of the docents mocked surprise. "Just kidding, he's a wax figure. He can't shoot us."

"I've met that girl," Larry muttered. The four made their way to the art museum. His phone buzzed. "Rebecca?" He paused. "Hold on, I'm going to find someplace quiet and put you on speaker." In the hall outside the restrooms, the four gathered around Larry's phone.

"Hi, Becca!" Sam halfway-flirted. "How are things?"

"I can't thank you enough for helping me out," Larry interrupted Sam.

"It won't be too lively without the tablet, though," Rebecca said. "Unless there's something you haven't told me."

"Nothing will be coming to life tonight, if that's what you're wondering. I still don't want anything happening on my shift, and you're being a huge help, so thank you," Larry insisted.

"Anything to help get Sacajawea back," Rebecca answered seriously. She and Sacajawea were good friends nowadays and it had pained Becca to see her go.

"We've hit a little road bump, though," Bobby said. Becca was quiet at the other end, so he continued. "The next exhibit over is one on organized crime, so when Sacajawea wakes up tonight, so will Jesse James, Blackbeard, and Al Capone."

"I've dealt with Capone before," Larry said. "Not super friendly."

"Is there anything you guys can do?" Becca asked. Larry sighed.

"We could see if there's a way to lock up that hall, but the pirates have swords and all of them have guns," Larry thought aloud.

"I'd say swords and machine guns would make it easy enough for them to break out," Sam said. "Then kill us," he added as an afterthought. As Larry wrapped up telling Becca how to run the museum in his absence, Bobby, Sam, and Nick returned to the exhibit on women.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the loudspeaker announced, "the museum will be closing in one hour." Larry joined the three others and they made their way to the Castle.

"Hey, man!" A guard hustled to meet Larry. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"Oh... you're Brandon, right?" Larry snapped his fingers, trying to remember.

"Brundon," the kid coughed. "No, no, it's okay. How are things going? Finding everything okay?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah, things are okay." Larry nodded. "You?"

"Things are great, man."

"Glad to hear it," Larry raised an eyebrow. "I was just coming to show these guys the Kahmunrah thing."

"Okay, dude," Brundon grinned, "Just don't touch it, aight?" Larry brushed past Brundon.

"Alright." Larry called over his shoulder. Staring at the door to the underworld, memories of every kind came flooding back to Larry. His hands clammed up when he thought of Jedd stuck in that hourglass and his heart thumped faster when he thought of Amelia's lips on his. All sorts of voices were vying for attention in his head. Brundon whistled behind the group.

"This thing is dangerous," Larry said. "If we want to get Sacajawea out without wrecking the museum, we've got to play moderator for the night. Capone's going to want to use this thing, I bet, and he'll want the tablet, too." He knew bringing three different crime gangs to life would lead to some sort of territorial battle between the exhibits.

"Hey, dudes," Brundon called, "I'm locking up for the night. Museum's closing now. You all want out?"

"It's an option?" Sam whispered critically to Bobby.

"Is it okay if we look around for a little longer?" Larry asked.

"No problemo," Brundon said. "I trust you, bro."

"Uh, thanks," Larry shuffled uncomfortably. There was something in Brundon's look that made all of them a little confused. He opened his mouth as though he were about to speak, but instead turned around and walked out. They heard the doors locking them in, and Sam and Bobby were suddenly impressed with Larry.

"What happened with him?" Sam asked.

"He may," Larry said, "have seen the security footage from my last visit." Bobby chuckled to himself.

"That would make sense," Bobby said, "Let's go wake up Ahk." Using Brundon's security card, the four made their way into the B-level archives. Larry nervously counted down the seconds until the whole of the archives would burst into anarchy around them. They found Ahk frozen in place somewhere near the back, in awe of Napoleon Bonaparte and his big hat and many medals.

"3... 2... 1..." Larry winced when, at one, the whole archives erupted into life around him.

"Larry Daley!" Napoleon struggled to speak as he came to life. Larry pulled Ahk along behind them.

"Yee-haw!" Echoed loudly through the archives.

"Custer," Larry groaned as the five ran.

"Dad!" Nicky took a left where Larry and the rest took a right. "This way leads to where they have Sacajawea!" Larry trusted his son since Nick had spent hours memorizing the blueprints of the sublevels. Not wasting another second, Larry, Ahk, Bobby, and Sam hurried after the middle-schooler. Their footsteps pounded up the concrete stairs and Bobby threw open the door to the museum, Sam slamming it quickly behind them.

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><p>Jesse James took a few moments to regain control of his prancing horse. "Whoa, Lucky!" He reigned it in. Capone jumped the railing that, during daytime hours, would separate him from the museum-goers.<p>

"I'm alive," Capone thought aloud, "That means Larry Daley is here and he has that damn gold tablet!" He thought for a second longer. "Somebody go find that redheaded dame he got cozy with last time around!" He shouted. "Before I fill you with daylight! On the double, people!" Three of his cronies and a woman in a floor-length dress nodded and rushed off with machine guns in hand. The pirate king examined his new companions with a cold ferocity that made everybody in the room nervous.

"You mentioned a damned golden tablet, mate," Blackbeard pointed his sword at Capone's throat. His silver teeth flashed in the dim light. "Enlighten me."

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><p>Amelia was hit with a huge sense of disorientation as she looked around her. The last time she had been awake like this, she had been wandering the archives wiping off tears of disappointment and resigning herself to an eternity's rest. She had had the adventure of a lifetime that night, yes, but she was disappointed there hadn't been more. Now, however, she was stationed in a room filled with other women. Across from her was the Indian woman she recognized from the last time. She tilted her head in acknowledgement as she pounced from Bessie's wing to the ground and started to stroll out of the room.<p>

If she was awake, that could only mean one thing: the tablet had returned to the Smithsonian. And if that tablet was back, Amelia hoped, that meant so was her old friend Larry. Outside the windows, Amelia could see the snow falling across the mall in flurries and frowned. How long, she wondered, had it been? And why hadn't he returned for her sooner?

"Excuse me!" A voice rang out behind her. Amelia ignored it. "Excuse me!" Amelia turned around to look at the girl. She was shorter than Amelia and had on a black-and-white trenchcoat with a traveling hat to match. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and the dress underneath her coat was pink. She dropped her handbag at the door as they left the vicinity of the women's hall.

"Hi, there," Amelia said.

"My name is Nellie Bly and I write for the _New York World_. Could I get a few questions?" The girl had shining blue eyes and a buoyant energy seemed to flood the space around her.

"No time, Miss Bly," Amelia turned around. "Gotta fly!" Amelia glanced back over her shoulder at the girl as she bounded away and the girl was smirking at the rhyme. Suddenly, the girl took off to catch up with Amelia.

"Wait!" She shouted. "Where am I?"

"The Smithsonian!" Amelia laughed wildly, tearing the hat off her head and enjoying the feeling of air rushing through her hair. She was _alive!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas, those of you who celebrate it! This is my christmas present to y'all.  
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><p>"Mr. Daley," the voice echoed down the hallway, "Nice of you to stop by." Larry and his crew turned around.<p>

"Hey, Al," Larry said. It was almost a shock to him to see the gangster in full color. "How's it going?"

"Good, good," Al and his cronies approached menacingly and suddenly, Nick regretted coming with his father. "Better if you'd hand over that tablet." He nudged his gun at Larry's gut and Larry backed up to protect Nick.

"What does he want my tablet for?" Ahk whispered to Larry. Al's eyes suddenly moved to the young pharaoh. Sam felt the coolness of the tablet against his stomach beneath his shirt and his palms clammed up. As soon as one of the pistols were waved in his direction, he sprinted off. Hot on his heels was Bobby and bullets riddled the walls as Sam raced down the dark hallway and Bobby leaped down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Stop." Al glanced coldly at his trigger-happy goon. He turned his attention back to Ahk. "So you're that Egyptian idiot's baby brother," Al regarded him coldly. "Hand that tablet over, pill."

"Listen, Al," Larry interrupted, "We don't have it. It's lost. We don't have any idea where it is."

"Well," Al growled, "you better find it before I find that sweet broad of yours. Else that might spell trouble for her."

"Sw- Amelia?" Larry looked panicked.

"That her name?" Al turned to one of his cronies, who nodded soberly. His dark eyes flicked back to Ahk and Nick. "You two, come with me."

"What do you want with them?" Larry grabbed Nick's shoulder to stop him from following Al.

"It's a little something I like to call leverage, Daley," Al sneered. "Motivation, if you will. And if these two don't follow me right now, I'll fill the both of them so full of lead, even you won't be able to tell them from a couple number two pencils. Capish?" Larry let Nick's shoulder go and Nick glanced fearfully up at Larry.

"Go with Ahk," Larry nudged Nick forward.

"Go fetch, Mr. Daley," Al called over his shoulder to Larry. Larry rushed off. First thing was first: to find Amelia.

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><p>Lisa cringed.<p>

"At least your costume still fits," Carmen snarled. Lisa felt ridiculous walking around in the empty mall dressed like the Statue of Liberty. Back in that year, they had each chosen to dress as something pertaining to their major. Izzy, a biochemistry major, had dressed as an amoeba. Meg, a music major, had dressed as Kiss. But Carmen, majoring in English, had dressed as a Romantic heroine, complete with the corset. "I can't breathe in!"

"Why are we doing this?" Lisa wondered aloud.

"For the fun of it!" Izzy attempted to encourage her friend with an unidentifiable accent. The fact that she was dressed as an amoeba elicited a laugh from Lisa.

"We're going to get arrested!" Lisa insisted over her laughter.

"Come on! We've got to get inside before we freeze to death out here!" Meg huddled closer to her friends. "If it comes down to prison or death by snowstorm, I choose prison. At least they have cozy blankets in jail cells!" As Izzy, Carmen, and Meg began to rush towards the museum, Lisa was left with no choice but to follow. She doubted very much that her friends could take care of themselves in the face of getting caught. Smart as they were, Lisa felt she was the only one in the group with any common sense.

"I'll go first," Lisa suggested. "Scope it out. I'll scream if there's a guard in the room, kay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Lisa hated that her three companions nodded like it made perfect sense. Why, again, she asked herself? They managed to lift her to the high window, where she somehow managed to jimmy the lock and open the window. She hoisted herself up and her friends helped her to swing her legs over the sill.

Losing her balance, Lisa toppled into the hall. Staring around her, a scream bubbled up out of her throat without her even thinking. She heard her friends whispering worriedly and meandering about outside the window, clearly conflicted.

A hand over her face cut off Lisa's yowl of surprise. The hall was alive. The women she had seen as waxworks mere hours ago were wandering about. Jane Austen and Emily Brontë wrestled on the ground, yanking on each other's hair and beating one another with their books. Jane Goodall, looking for all the world like Tarzan's Jane, jabbered with the chimps as simply as if they were human children. Georgia O'Keeffe shot annoyed glances at the mayhem all about her as she attempted to finish a painting.

Missing from this scenery were Coco Chanel and Amelia Earhart. Perhaps a few others had gone as well, but Lisa had rushed through this exhibit when she had visited earlier in the day.

Lisa heard shuffling outside and a yelp of "Sorry, Lise," through the window.

"Traitors," Lisa mumbled to herself. She readied herself to scream again as she looked up and saw that Sacajawea was sitting calmly to her right. Sally Ride defied gravity in her space suit just across the hall. To her left, a fresh-faced Joan of Arc looked on curiously. Cleopatra was shouting from her gilded throne, stomping her feet, trying to regain order in the hall. "What is happening?" Her voice shook with surprise and fear. As Sacajawea tried to speak, Lisa scowled at her. "You're dead! I don't know what those girls put in my water, but..."

"Calm down," Florence Nightingale approached with a serene glow about her. "All is well."

"No, all is certainly not well!" Lisa shouted. "I must be dreaming." Lisa pinched her arm and squeezed her eyes shut, muttering, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" to herself.

"Please, calm down," Florence Nightingale placed a hand on her forehead. "You don't seem feverish..."

"Don't touch me!" Lisa slapped Florence Nightingale's hand away. "Get away from me!"

"Please, miss," Sacajawea said, "We will not harm you." Just outside the door were the sounds of footsteps and Sacajawea and Florence met eyes. "We have to hide her!" Roughly, Joan of Arc grabbed Lisa's arm and shoved her into Amelia Earhart's plane.

"What are you doing!"

"Quiet!" Joan hissed, climbing into the plane after Lisa and shutting both of them in. Joan proceeded to whisper in harsh, frantic French to a stunned Lisa. They peeped from the windows of the red plane and saw a group of gangsters in pinstriped suits throw a handsome Egyptian and a young boy into the room. With one final aggressive glance about, the gangsters left and slammed the door.

"Who's that?" Lisa asked.

"Capone," Joan growled, letting the both of them out of Earhart's plane.

"Would somebody mind bringing me up to speed here?" Lisa requested to nobody in particular. "What in the name of God is going on?"

"I can explain it," the Egyptian offered.

"Who are you?" Lisa glared suspiciously.

"I am Ahkmenrah, king of Egypt, and it is my tablet that is the cause of your... distress."

"Lisa Schwartz, artist from New York." Lisa shook hands with Ahkmenrah. "And you are?" The young boy accompanying Ahkmenrah looked normal, thank her lucky stars!

"Nick Daley," the kid had a benign smile. "I didn't see the statue of Liberty here earlier..."

"That's because I'm not a museum freak like these ladies." Lisa suddenly ducked as a book went flying at her head. "I'm just normal."

* * *

><p>After being shot at by a 50-some years dead gangster with the knowledge that he would eventually be chasing you down again to obtain the stupid golden tablet under your shirt, Sam was reasonably on edge. Paranoid that he was being followed, Sam had been imagining the sound of light footsteps behind his own for the past three hallways he had walked down. Which is why, when a light, "Bonjour, monsieur!" met him as he turned right, Sam nearly jumped out of his skin.<p>

At the end of the hallway stood a skinny little French girl in a little black dress with a red scarf around her neck.

"Coco Chanel?" Sam squinted.

"Oui, c'est mon nom. Pourriez-vous me faire la faveur sorte de me dire où exactement je suis?"

"Um... I don't... no habla Francais?" It came out a confused question. Chanel sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes as she approached.

"So it's English then?" Sam nodded, stunned. He was taken aback by her flawless grace. "I was just wondering if you would be so kind as to tell me where I am? I woke up in a hall filled with belligerent... ladies and narrowly escaped with my hair. I've been so confused and you seem to know where you're going, so..."

"We're in a museum," Sam answered.

"...I was hoping I could follow you?" Coco finished.

"Miss Chanel, I might not be the best person for you to 'follow,'" Sam admitted. "I'm kind of in a sticky situation with a bunch of thugs with guns. Who have friends with horses. And friends with swords."

"Are you now?" She raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"Seriously," Sam insisted, "Very dangerous. I wouldn't want to put you in any danger..."

"You don't care for my well-being at all," Coco began to argue when six figures appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Get down!" Sam ducked behind a display case filled with geodes. "Miss Chanel!" As some of the James-Younger gangsters trotted down the hallway, Sam grabbed Coco around the wrist and yanked her down behind the geode display with him.

"How rude!" She protested.

"Shh!" Sam held a finger to his lips and pointed at the horsemen and the guns strapped to their belts. Coco got the message but didn't hesitate to give Sam a severely dirty look. As soon as they trotted past, Coco stood and brushed herself off. "Stay down!" Sam insisted, but Coco began to trot off.

"If you're not willing to-" Coco started angrily.

"They're coming back!" Sam whispered. "Ms. Chanel, that hallway's a-"

"Hey! There they are!"

"-Dead end," Sam gulped as a bullet whizzed past his head. "Let's go! Come on, run!" Coco yelped and Sam motioned for her to follow him to the door. The two ducked behind the huge stones for as long as they could, then made a mad dash for the doors.

"Come on! Open!" Sam shouted, jiggling the locked doors. A bullet from one of the confederate thugs came to their aid and shattered one of the glass doors. Sam slammed his shoulder into the already broken glass and fell right through the door. Coco followed gingerly as the cowboys charged down the hallway after her. She helped Sam off the ground and the two disappeared into the whiteness of blizzard.

"I'll go after them," a curly-headed lady in a cowboy hat with a rifle slung over her shoulder offered, narrowing her eyes at the white blizzard. She left her horse and the other horsemen behind as she ventured into the snow after the two who had escaped.

"Godspeed, Miss Oakley."


End file.
